Wyoming Lawmakers Disagree Over College Remediation

Lawmakers on a state education panel disagreed Tuesday how to support the state’s high school students who take remedial courses.

About 56 percent of Wyoming community college students who began college in fall 2006 were required to enroll in remedial courses, according to data prepared by the Wyoming Community College Commission. Most students — 33 percent — enrolled in math courses, according to the report presented to the Legislature’s Joint Education Committee in Casper on Tuesday.

About 23 percent of Wyoming high school students entering the University of Wyoming this fall were eligible for remedial math courses. (UW doesn’t test for remedial English needs.) But 90 percent of Wyoming high school students entering UW this fall completed the Hathaway Success Curriculum.

The numbers don’t match up, and lawmakers were unsure where to place the blame. UW officials have proposed raising guaranteed admission requirements while admitting students below the standards and requiring extra support.